In a tragic incident that took place on Sunday evening in the Krishna river in Andhra Pradesh, an overloaded boat capsized in the river, taking the lives of at least 25 of the passengers on board. While several injured have been admitted to the Andhra Hospital in Vijayawada, the police are on the search for seven others who were reported as missing.
The tourist boat, which was filled with members of the Ongole walkers club, capsized just a few moments before it was to reach the jetty at Vijayawada. The Indian Express quoted state’s Home Minister N Chinarajappa saying, “We don’t know yet how many people were on the boat, but those who were rescued said there were 38 people. Some eight families of members of Ongole Walking Club had hired the boat. 11 bodies have been recovered and 20 persons have been rescued.” He also added, “The tourists were travelling from Bhavani Island to Pavitra Sangham near Vijayawada when the mishap occurred. None of the tourists were wearing life jackets which is in total violation of the safety guidelines issued to all the boat owners operating here.”
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Andhra Pradesh’s Tourism Minister Bhuma Akhila Priya has ordered an inquiry into the incident and has sought further details at the earliest.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed the accident as anguishing and expressed his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this tragedy.
Capsizing of a boat in the Krishna River is anguishing. My thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives in this tragedy. Andhra Pradesh Government and @NDRFHQ have been working on rescue operations: PM @narendramodi
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 13, 2017
Around 30 troopers of the NDRF and a 45-member team of the State Disaster Rescue Force, along with several others from other departments, were present at the location to help the rescue operations.
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